The BBC has spent £120,000 of licence fee payers' money on a lavish Christmas party for 2,500 staff.

Revellers were offered unlimited free drink and had their own funfair.

Staff were given free transport to and from the Battersea Evolution venue in South-West London, as well as a disco which went on till nearly 2am.

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All the fun on the fee: BBC employees on one of the funfair rides

Licence fee payers effectively shelled out nearly £50 per guest at the party held by BBC Vision, the programme-making arm of the broadcaster.

Last night workers who are facing the axe as the BBC tries to plug a £2billion funding black hole said they would have preferred the money to be spent on saving some of the doomed 1,800 jobs.

A BBC insider said: "Considering this department lost about 30 per cent or 40 per cent of its total workforce and senior staff were demoted, receiving less pay, a lot of them feel that the money spent on this lavish party could have been used for better things."

A corporation spokesman said: "While we are very sensitive to the current situation, we still feel it is acceptable to put on a moderately priced event to thank staff for their hard work through the year."